Chapter 205: Second story (3)


    Lucion directed his gaze to the spot Russell indicated, yet the surroundings showed no apparent change.


    “I’m d I don’t have anything to do,” Peter said as he walked up from behind.


    Though he had done nothing, he looked very pleased.


    “Are you okay?” Kran hurried to Lucion, clearly concerned about his sudden halt.


    Lucion nodded, reassuring, “I’m fine. I’ll tidy up shortly, please wait.”


    “I can take care of the cleanup,” Kran offered.


    “No, not that kind of cleanup,” Lucion rified, dismissing Kran’s offer.


    He needed to dispel the ghosts to avoid potential tracking.


    —Hehe. It’s my moment to shine now!Ratta leaped mischievously from the shadows, as if anticipating this opportunity.


    —Observe Ratta carefully, alright?


    Clearing her throat, Ratta emitted a violet darkness from her eyes.


    “…!”


    Lucion suppressed his immediate urge to question Ratta.


    —Release yourself from that burdensome form.


    A deep voice that did not suit Ratta came out.


    She appeared to have grown in size suddenly.


    —Open your eyes.


    At the same time, souls began to rise from deceased people at Ratta’smand.


    Around the same time, the people who were slowly bing ghosts began to open their eyes one by one.


    [Is this the power of a divine beast?]


    Bethel’s surprised emotions were conveyed to Lucion.


    [If not, then it can’t be exined.]


    With his arms crossed, Russell observed the seemingly impossible events with interest.


    —Ta-da! Look at Ratta. Did I do well? I’m the best!


    Ratta sounded cheerful, as if the earlier voice had been a deception.


    “Good job, Ratta. You’re the best.”


    Lucion whispered softly, releasing his own darkness to cover the corpses like a thin nket.


    “What… are you doing?”


    Kran asked, staring at the darkness suspended in the air.


    The darkness dissipated like melting snow.


    Kran shivered, feeling an inexplicable sensation as if an unseen hand caressed him.


    As he stepped out of the forest, Reint spoke in disbelief.


    “It seems to be the work of the Nevast people. There’s a kingdom called Keortia over there, and they had a barrier concealing it, but Keortia seems to have vanished, doesn’t it?”


    Despite his words, he fidgeted, touching his ear in confusion.


    “But I can’t quite grasp his words. It might be best to observe the barrier disappearing first and verify things afterward.”


    “Did you kill him?” Lucion asked, to which Reint shook his head.


    “No. I thought keeping him alive might be wise. I provided first aid and tied him up over there.”


    “Good judgment,” Lucion replied, his mask turning a shade of blue.


    Witnesses are crucial for gaining trust.


    Lucion turned to the right. Two death knights had approached, gesturing back to where Russell had indicated.


    [The barrier will soon dissipate, revealing the truth before you. We will lead the way.]


    [I’ve heard that you were waiting for Kran. What was your rtionship?] Bethel asked, and one


    of the death knights answered calmly.


    [We were knights. I was among those unable to save him as he was taken before us, a knight whose name I feel ashamed to even utter.]


    Knowing they were fellow knights, Bethel looked at them with pity.


    What a misery it must have been.


    —Oh! Over there! Look over there!


    Ratta tiptoed, clutching the edge of the shadows as she gazed ahead.


    “There really was a barrier, wasn’t there?” Peter eximed, clearly in disbelief.


    As they witnessed the illusoryndscape fading away, Kran’s eyes were filled with sorrow.


    “I’ll lead the way,” Lucion stated, looking at Kran.


    * * *


    They walked for about half an hour.


    Lucion, who broke through the bushes and came out first, stood tall on the spot.


    <i>‘What is this…’</i>


    Lucion couldn’t believe what he had just witnessed.


    [Did the castle… just vanish?] Russell stumbled over his words.


    [I saw it too. The castle disappeared.]


    “Was it magic?” Hume, who followed Lucion, asked in astonishment, taken aback by the unfolding scene.


    In the wide in, a castle that had not been there just a moment ago now stood before them.


    As Hume stepped closer to Lucion, he suddenly covered his right eye.


    <i>‘This is unbelievable…’</i>


    Lucion was confused about how to react to the strange situation unfolding before his eyes and the whereabouts of the ck orb.


    —Ratta will stop it!


    Ratta made a ‘Hop’ sound and Hume lowered his hand.


    “What’s happening…?”


    “Is this an illusion magic?” Peter and Reint reacted in their own ways, but both seemed intrigued as they gazed at the scene unfolding before them.


    “Is it magic?” Lucion asked as he looked at Peter and Reint.


    “I’ve never seen magic like this before,” Peter replied.


    “I think we need to take a closer look. But somehow, it doesn’t feel like magic…” Reint squinted, focusing his remaining eye.


    [Reint has a point. We should get closer, but something… feels familiar about this.]


    Russell lightly touched his nose and watched the castle phenomenon appear and disappear.


    He felt a sense of unease.


    “Kran, may I move separately?” Reint asked as he nced at Kran, who had just arrived.


    “…!”


    Kran stood still.


    “W-What is this?” He stammered and looked to Lucion for answers, but Lucion had no idea.


    “I’m not sure either. Let’s spread out for now and investigate. There doesn’t seem to be anything here.”


    “I’ll… stay here and keep watch,” Kran said, taking a hesitant step forward, his gaze fixed on the castle of his homnd, Keortia, lost in thought.


    “Rental. Let’s go,” Lucion decided to prioritize the search for the ck orb over the strange phenomenon.


    “This way,” Hume pointed in the opposite direction from Lucion’s path.


    Lucion hesitated briefly but followed Hume.


    They headed towards the main gate of Keortia’s castle, not far from where they had emerged from the bushes.


    In the cyclical appearance and disappearance of Keortia, silence prevailed.


    The closed gate briefly greeted Lucion before vanishing.


    “What happened here?” Lucion asked, looking at the Death Knights.


    [Keortia vanished in an instant. I was attacked and died while searching for the cause. When I viewed the world as a Death Knight, it had transformed into what you see now.]


    Lucion recalled Kran’s remark, which was quite simr to what he had just heard. He turned to face Russell.


    Russell appeared to be intently inspecting the castle, with an expression that suggested he might grasp something.


    <i>‘What could this be? What on earth is happening here?’</i>


    Lucion stopped in front of the castle gate.


    Hume pointed out with his hand and said, “The ck orb lies just ahead.”


    “Should we… go inside?” Lucion hesitated.


    He was uncertain if he could even touch something in a ce where such bizarre phenomena were urring.


    “The orb calls to you, young master. I can guide you,” Hume offered.


    —Huh? I thought I had definitely stopped it…


    A flicker of darkness red up in Hume’s right eye.


    “How?”


    “I’m the guide, after all,” Hume said with a smirk, extending his hand as the castle materialized before them.


    <i>Creak.</i>


    An unpleasant sound of the door opening filled the air, and a deep silence seemed to grip the surroundings as if time had stopped.


    Upon blinking and reopening his eyes, Lucion found himself already within the strange castle.


    “Wee! This is the second one now!”


    A ck figure waved its arms excitedly to greet him.


    The figure appeared a bit clearer than before.


    Was this truly inside Keortia’s castle?


    “Ah, I see you’ve already encountered him.”


    The figure fixed its gaze on Lucion before speaking with concern.


    “How frightened you must have been! But fret not. He can’t reach this ce.”


    “Why?” Lucion asked.


    “It’s a ce where his power cannot reach. So you don’t have to worry.”


    “Can you tell me who that guy is?”


    “Certainly. But why the interest in him?” The figure chuckled.


    “You shouldn’t be here for too long. The exnation would take too long.”


    “Why?”


    “This is a very special ce. The longer you stay, the more you’ll be consumed.”


    “To whom?”


    “Me,” the figure stated ominously, advancing towards Lucion.


    Lucion found himself at a loss for words.


    “Anyway, that guy’s name is ‘Veronia,’ the Rejected One.”


    “He calls himself the King of Darkness, doesn’t he?”


    <i>Pfft.</i>


    The ck figure burst intoughter at Lucion’s words.


    “He’s not a king. No, he can’t be a king. He’s trapped in the world behind the door.”


    “So, why does time seem to halt whenever he appears?”


    “The world doesn’t halt. It rejects him.”


    “And what about me? Am I also rejected by the world?”


    “No, absolutely not!”


    The figure approached Lucion urgently, almost in a panic.


    “You… you are merely entangled and twisted.”


    “What does that mean?”


    “I’ll exin when we meet next. But for now, there’s something important I must share. Here.”


    The ck figure passed on to Lucion the power that he thought of as the ck orb.


    “Now, are you ready for the second story? You must be curious. This time, we have the time for further boration.”


    As soon as Lucion epted that power, the ck figure began to speak rapidly.


    “The servants of darkness worshiped darkness and revered light.”


    The servants of darkness were the Ravien.


    It has already been confirmed through Asha, another Ravien other than Hume, that Ravien worships a higher ‘darkness’ than the darkness possessed by warlocks.


    The fact that such Ravien also followed the light was astonishing.


    “But the foolish followers of the Light killed the Darkness, causing the bnce to break, leading to corruption that enveloped the world,” the ck figure spoke, its voice resonating as if reading from a book.


    But that wasn’t the important part. Lucion’s eyes widened.


    “Corruption… Did it surface when the bnce was disrupted?”


    The ck figure refuted what Lucion thought he knew.


    Those who have received the blessing of darkness naturally realize that corruption is inseparable and that it is a phenomenon that urs when bnce is broken.


    “The world is made up of light, mana, and darkness. Do you happen to know this?” The ck figure asked.


    “I do,” Lucion replied, and the figure grinned slyly.


    “Then our story will go much faster. Light appears with birth, mana with life, and darkness with death, and those who possess these powers are each granted the abilities of regeneration, transformation, and purification.”


    This was additional knowledge to what Lucion had previously heard.


    “Among these powers, darkness was unique. No, it had to be unique; nobody desires death. Darkness required interaction. It held the responsibility offorting the departed and facilitating their cycle of rebirth.”


    “So… only darkness possesses self-awareness?”


    “Indeed. Yet the ignorant beings of light feared the entities of darkness, perceiving them as harbingers of death.”


    This scenario was not much different from the present.


    Perhaps back then, the ghosts were clearly visible.


    Nevertheless, the same thing is happening now.


    “Corruption was created that way. The broken bnce—specifically, the chaos of darkness that arose when it was attacked and driven away by light. These poor, pitiful beings,” the ck figure exined.


    “But wasn’t there supposedly a god of light? Why did they not intervene?”


    “The god might have existed once. But there is no god of light, Lucion. There has never been a god of light from the very beginning.”


    The ck figure spoke in a voice that seemed to mock someone.


    “I’m sorry, but that’s as far as I can go. I told you before, right? You shouldn’t stay here for too long. But it seems we’ll be able to meet a bit longer next time.”


    As the ck figure reached out and ced a hand on Lucion’s chest, it added, “Things that were broken are slowly mending, aren’t they?”


    “When it’s fixed, what exactly do you intend to do with me?” Lucion asked, brushing aside the figure’s hand in irritation.


    “It will merely return to its original state.”


    Pointing towards the sky, the ck figure continued, “Lucion, you witnessed it for yourself a moment ago, didn’t you? The twisted part of this world.”


    It almost seemed as if the ck figure’s face contorted with emotion.


    “I’ll see you next time.”


    <i>Blink.</i>


    When Lucion blinked, he found himself standing in front of the castle gate again.


    He felt warmth coursing through him, and blood dripped steadily from his nose.


    His body felt hot, and the strange sensation of darkness expanding within him was reminiscent of when he had obtained the ck orb.


    It was as if something was devouring his consciousness.


    [Lord Lucion? Why are you suddenly like this?]


    Bethel asked, surprised by Lucion’s sudden symptoms.


    <i>‘That’s a relief. At least I won’t copse while you’re possessing me.’</i>


    It was clear that Lucion was managing to hold on thanks to Bethel’s support.


    <i>[‘That’s not something to brag about, Lord Lucion!’]</i>


    Bethel said in horror.


    “Did you seed?” Hume asked, supporting the staggering Lucion.


    [Yeah. It looks like he obtained the ck orb. The darkness is increasing rapidly now, isn’t it?]


    Russell expressed slight displeasure.


    Though Lucion had only been lost in thought momentarily, when had he obtained it?


    —Lucion has the ck orb! Ratta knows! Woo! Power is flowing into Ratta!


    Ratta agreed with Russell, beaming with joy.


    “Hume, how did you know?”


    Lucion lifted his mask slightly, using the handkerchief Hume had provided to wipe the blood from his nose.


    “I mentioned earlier that as your guide, I could lead you to where the ck orb was,” Hume exined.


    “Asha was right,” Lucion sighed in relief, rxing his shoulders.


    Though he had obtained the ck orb, the strange sensation hadn’t disappeared.


    Instead, he saw something different now.


    It was ck smoke hovered in the shape of a palm, as if inviting him to ce his hand on it.